Designing for Performance: Sports Architecture from Melbourne to Tasmania

At Peddle Thorp Architects, we understand that designing for sport means designing for people: athletes, fans, and the wider community.

With a track record that spans decades, our team brings deep expertise to every brief. Whether it’s a major metropolitan facility or a regional redevelopment, our approach balances performance with placemaking, innovation with practicality, and vision with local relevance.

This post highlights three current projects that reflect our commitment to delivering high-quality sports architecture across a range of settings. From Victoria to Tasmania and New Zealand, each facility responds to the specific needs of its location while upholding the same standard of design excellence.

1. Melbourne, Victoria: Hawthorn Football Club’s Future Home

Hawthorn Football Club’s new Dingley facility represents a long-term investment in both high-performance sport and broader community engagement. Peddle Thorp was engaged to design a purpose-built training and administration base that supports AFL-level performance while creating welcoming, accessible spaces for community sport and recreation.

The masterplan includes indoor training facilities, gym and recovery areas, administration spaces, and a new elite training oval. A key focus of the design is flexibility, allowing the club to adapt the space as professional sport continues to evolve. Integrated community infrastructure ensures that the facility is not only for elite athletes, but also serves local sporting clubs and schools.

This project reflects Peddle Thorp’s ability to deliver sporting environments that are technically complex, operationally clear and deeply connected to local identity.

2. Christchurch, New Zealand: Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre

Set to become one of the largest indoor sports and aquatic venues in the Southern Hemisphere, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre is a landmark project in the heart of Christchurch. Designed collaboratively by Peddle Thorp Architects, Warren and Mahoney, and MJMA, the centre supports both elite performance and everyday recreation.

Key features include a 50-metre competition pool, a dedicated diving pool, warm water pool, learn-to-swim pool, waterslides, leisure water zones, and multiple indoor courts for basketball, netball and volleyball. Fitness, rehabilitation, and wellness spaces are integrated to serve a broad user base—from high-performance athletes to families and local schools.

The facility also sets a benchmark for sustainable design, incorporating energy-efficient systems, responsible materials, and water-saving initiatives. As a civic anchor for Christchurch’s renewal, Parakiore delivers a powerful combination of scale, function, and community impact.

3. Devonport, Tasmania: Revitalising the Devonport Oval Sports Complex

The centrepiece of this project is a new indoor sports complex featuring six multipurpose courts, a high-performance and event centre, five outdoor netball courts, and indoor/outdoor cricket training facilities. Function spaces and upgraded amenities support a range of community and competitive uses.

Devonport Oval has long served as a regional hub for sport and events. Peddle Thorp’s role in its revitalisation focuses on modernising the infrastructure while preserving the oval’s historic character. Upgrades include new change rooms, spectator facilities, and multipurpose areas, all designed to enhance the experience for users and visitors alike.

This project demonstrates our ability to deliver sophisticated, multi-use sports environments in regional settings, meeting diverse needs within complex site and budget parameters.

Designing sports facilities at this scale is not just about delivering buildings. It is about creating lasting value through spaces that are used, relied on, and remembered. Each of these projects carries its own complexity, but all share a commitment to purposeful design and long-term relevance.

As the demands on sport and public infrastructure continue to evolve, so does our approach. We remain focused on delivering architecture that performs at every level, supports a wide range of users, and responds intelligently to the context it belongs to.

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